United States

Jean Ross

Program Officer New York

Jean Ross works on government transparency and accountability issues in the United States. Her grant making supports efforts to create new standards, rules and practices to make government more accountable to the needs and priorities of marginalized groups. Her work centers on the reform of governance structures to protect the public interest and restore the public's faith in democracy.

Jean brings a wealth of expertise and a strong record of accomplishment on fiscal and economic policy issues. Before joining the foundation in 2012, she served as executive director of the California Budget Project (CBP)—one of the nation's leading state budget and policy organizations. A nationally recognized expert in the field, Jean's experience has ranged from working as a member of the national advisory board of the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, to serving as chair of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative, a national network of 32 state-based budget and policy organizations.

Before joining the CBP, Jean was principal consultant to the California State Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, developing and advancing legislation affecting state and local taxes policy, and a senior consultant to the California State Assembly Human Services Committee, focused on a range of social policy issues. Prior to that, she worked as the assistant research director of the Service Employees International Union in Washington, D.C., where she coordinated research activities on tax, budget and labor market policies.

Jean received a master's degree in city and regional planning from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelors of arts degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz.